Flag plan a tall(est) order

Oglethorpe County

Posted: Thursday, December 04, 2003

By Mike D'Avriamike.davria@onlineathens.com

The world's tallest freestanding flagpole rises 414 feet over Amman, Jordan, but a proposed veterans' park in Oglethorpe County would feature an even taller tower - 550 feet - rising above the rolling piedmont east of Lexington.

The tallest freestanding flagpole in the world currently stands in Amman, Jordan, but if all goes as planned by the U.S. Armed Forces Tribute Foundation, the new tallest flagpole in the world will rise in Oglethorpe County.

According to Sam Hurst, the foundation's public relations director, a 550-foot flagpole with an American flag will stand on almost 1,400 acres of land in eastern Oglethorpe County near Centerville Road at a proposed veterans' memorial park called ''America's Tribute.''

Oglethorpe County Commission Chairman Robert Johnson said the commission has been aware of the park plans for a few months, but did not want to publicize the idea before plans were finalized.

''We thought it might be too good to be true,'' Johnson said. ''It's quite an elaborate plan, we just hope it comes to fruition.''

Johnson said a public meeting will be held to discuss the park at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Oglethorpe County Library in Lexington. Hurst said the public has a lot of questions about the project, and the county wanted to have this meeting to answer those questions.

Currently the tallest ''freestanding'' flagpole is in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. It is 414 feet tall, and a 98-by-196-foot Jordanian flag flies from it. But the world's tallest flagpole is in Panmunjom, North Korea, near the border of South Korea where the truce that ended the Korean War was signed. Built in 1953, it stands 525 feet tall.

According to Shane Allen, marketing and advertising director at U.S. Flag & Flagpole Supply - the company that built the three tallest freestanding flagpoles in the world - the pole in Korea ought not be considered a freestanding flagpole, because it's on top of a structure similar to a radio tower.

Allen said it is possible to build a 550-foot flagpole, but price becomes a factor as height increases.

''After you get to 150 feet, the pole has to be engineered specifically for the site it will be on,'' he said. Site topography, soil and rock conditions, and various wind-load factors play into the cost of a flagpole, Allen explained.

A 900-foot flagpole could someday be feasible - if the money's right, according to Allen.

''Anything is possible in our eyes,'' he said.

Hurst said the U.S. Armed Forces Tribute Foundation was created for the purpose of building the veterans' park, and the site in Oglethorpe County was chosen after looking at many locations in several other states. According to Hurst, the site is close enough to Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah to draw many people to the park.

''There's a lot going for Oglethorpe County ... and thank goodness it's still quiet and peaceful,'' Hurst said. ''We looked at many different states, but the land had to accommodate the area for the park.''

The park will not only host the world's tallest flagpole, but also a wall dubbed the ''Wall of Valor'' and a walkway called the ''Paths of Allegiance.'' Both structures will be built with bricks and pieces of pavement with individual inscriptions on them.

A series of 38-pound stones will create the wall, and each stone will have a serviceman or woman's name, branch of military and years served engraved on them. A similar process will be used to create the pathway, with contributors deciding what will be engraved on each piece.

Individual stones will be sold for a $65 donation, and pieces of the path can be purchased for a $35 donation.

Hurst said the donations will pay for the park and flagpole construction, as well as the land. A contract has been signed in order to buy the land, but a payment has not been made, according to Hurst. The foundation is looking to pay around $2 million for the land.

Hurst said the foundation has discussed prices with Flags USA, the company that may build the pole in Oglethorpe. Currently, Flags USA holds the record for building the tallest freestanding flagpole in the United States - 308 feet in Loretta, Texas.

Hurst said the foundation hopes to complete the project by 2006, but is making sure the money is acquired before any construction begins.

''We have never built anything else, and we do not plan to build any other parks,'' Hurst said. ''(The foundation's) sole purpose was to build this park.''